The ACC’s first Bowl Championship Series at-large bid would not rain cash on its 12 members. An at-large is worth $6.1 million this season, and given the conference’s equal revenue sharing, would net each school approximately $500,000, or less than 1 percent of most annual budgets.

But sending a second team to the BCS, seemingly an annual exercise for the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten, would enhance ACC football’s national, not to mention self, image.

Question is, with Selection Sunday less than three weeks away, what are the league’s chances of landing one of the four at-larges that will join six conference champs in the BCS?

An ACC championship game matching 11-1 Virginia Tech and 11-1 Clemson would give the conference its best chance since the BCS’ 1998 inception. Both teams travel well and are recognized nationally, and the loser of their rematch likely would remain among the top 14 in the BCS standings, the cut-off for at-large consideration.

But even in those conditions, hardly a given since the Hokies and Tigers have two regular-season games remaining, the ACC’s at-large chances appear remote.

Start with the SEC, which has sent two teams to the BCS each of the last five years. Barring the bizarre, some exacta from among LSU, Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia (only if the Dawgs win the conference title game) will extend that streak to six.

Then there’s the Big 12. The loser of the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game Dec. 3 figures to receive an at-large, unless that team also stumbles in the interim. The Sooners play Baylor and Iowa State; the Cowboys face Iowa State. So don’t hold your breath. Rather, figure on OU and Okie State in the BCS.

Closing the regular season with victories over California and Notre Dame would earn the Pacific 12’s Stanford a second consecutive at-large. Heck, given Andrew Luck’s Q rating, a loss wouldn’t doom the Cardinal, providing it remained among the BCS’ top 14.

The finals BCS standings will be critical to the champions of Conference USA and the Mountain West. If either is among the top 12, or top 16 and ahead of the champ of an automatic qualifier conference, it is BCS-bound.

This week, CUSA division leaders Houston and Southern Mississippi are 10th and 20th, respectively. Mountain West frontrunner Texas Christian is 19th. As important, no Big East team is in the top 25, which lowers the bar for the teams from the non-AQ leagues.

Best case for the ACC: Have three-loss Tulsa upset undefeated Houston on Nov. 25 and Southern Mississippi in the title game, thereby dooming CUSA’s hopes.

And, have TCU lose to either Colorado State or UNLV (5-13 combined, so good luck there), allowing the Horned Frogs to stay atop the Mountain West but dropping them below 16th in the BCS standings.

Finally, there’s the Big 10. At 10-2, either Nebraska or Michigan would be serious at-large contenders. They are 8-2 and play one another Saturday, with the Cornhuskers (16th in BCS) closing against Iowa, the Wolverines (No. 18 BCS) versus Ohio State.

The ACC would be better off with Nebraska and Michigan incurring third defeats that would keep them from at-large eligibility.

At No. 25 in the BCS, Florida State (7-3) is far from at-large consideration. But given their national-title pedigree, the Seminoles might have been the ACC’s best hope had they not lost at Wake Forest.

A 10-2 Florida State could have crawled into the top 14 and would have been attractive to ratings-conscious BCS officials.

Reader’s Digest version: With four spots available, the ACC appears to be sixth on the food chain. Could the Big Ten and Big 12 implode? Stanford and the non-AQs?

One would surprise. The ACC probably needs two.

I can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com. Follow me at twitter.com/DavidTeelatDP